


distance makes the heart grow fonder

by Anonymous



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Angst, Bottom Park Chanyeol, Drunken Shenanigans, Eventual Smut, Feelings Realization, Fluff, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Romantic Comedy, Top Kim Jongdae | Chen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:47:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29191041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: “Do you guys not even see the rings on your fingers?!”“How could we have known they were wedding rings?”Chanyeol has to deal with his feelings yet again, now that he had accidentally married his childhood best friend. Also the same best friend he's been in love with for a very long time.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Kim Jongdae | Chen/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 3
Kudos: 57
Collections: Tender PCY Fest 2021





	distance makes the heart grow fonder

**Author's Note:**

> TPCY#171  
> Prompt: Childhood best friends Chanyeol and Jongdae woke up and found themselves in front of a suite,(literally, in front of the door, on the floor) with a very bad hangover, one Sunday morning in Los Angeles. They were both wearing ridiculous Hawaiian shirts over their plain ones, jeans and lovely silver wedding rings on their fingers. Wait, what?
> 
> a/n: i hope i did the prompter justice! please enjoy! kudos & comments appreciated! ❤

Jongdae snores himself awake, and blinks twice before shutting his eyes again. He yawns loudly and stretches himself, but his hands slamming against the wall behind him successfully woke him up fully. Groaning, he gets up, scratching his eyes and opening it slowly to take in surroundings. Wait, where was he? He blinks his eyes, and sees another human - Chanyeol - sprawled on the floor beside him. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes and opens them again; they were on the floor, outside a door… and he sees many other doors… Huh? What were they doing yesterday? Jongdae thinks extremely hard with a very hazy and confused mind. Yesterday… it was Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s wedding… It was at some fancy hotel because Kyungsoo’s filthy rich… Maybe that is where they’re at? Cracking his neck, he continues thinking. He remembers drinking (a whole lot), he remembers dancing and laughing and eating… Huh.

Just then, Chanyeol starts to wake up, groaning and clutching his stomach in pain. Jongdae finally sees a keycard in the younger’s hand, snatching it away and still sitting on the floor, tries to unlock the door in front of them. The lock beeped open and Jongdae pulled down the handle, the door opening wide for them both.

“Come… Come on, Yeol.” He drags his best friend across the floor and into the room, neither of them wanting to get up, but Chanyeol does anyway, in favour of puking into the toilet bowl. Luckily, he was sober enough to do that in time.

Jongdae somehow manages to grab two bottles of water from the counter just as Chanyeol drags himself into the living room, falling face flat on the sofa. He groans incoherently into the cushions.

“We’re in some hotel room…” Jongdae looks around, “Like a fucking suite or something. Too fancy for common people like us.”

“You’re talking too much,” Chanyeol complains, and Jongdae throws him a bottle of water, “You asked.” The former groans again, but is thankful for the liquid H2O. The older of them two downs the water, before standing up and stretching again, wanting to explore the room. It has two large bedrooms; each probably the size of their shared apartment, two washrooms, an entire kitchen with a dining area and a stocked fridge, a balcony, a laundry room and last but not least, the large living room in front of him, equipped with a large sofa, tv and a chandelier hanging above Chanyeol’s head. Jongdae smirks, before going to the grand piano at the back and sitting down. Too bad he doesn’t know how to play the piano as well as his best friend does. He raises both his hands and slams it hard against the keys, earning a large shout-groan from the younger, and a pillow thrown to his face.

“I fucking hate you.”

“Join the team. I hate myself too. Should we order room service? I think Kyungsoo would pay for us if we asked Baekhyun to ask him.” Chanyeol groans before saying a throaty, “Yes”, and Jongdae goes to the phone and orders an entire feast.

“It’ll be up in like 20 minutes.” Only then did Jongdae realise what was on Chanyeol’s body. “What are _you_ wearing?” He looks at his own, “What the hell am _I_ wearing?” It seems like they’re both wearing matching Hawaiian shirts - one in bright blue, the other in bright orange - but Jongdae doesn’t remember even owning these.

“Oh God,” Chanyeol groans, “We stripped off our button-ups.” He widens his eyes when he realises, “Where are those then?”

“I feel like we should call Baekhyun and ask. I think we got a little too crazy last night.” Jongdae pauses, “Wait, is this even our room or did we steal a keycard?” Chanyeol inhales sharply after that and instantly says, “Call Baekhyun _now_.”

“How much did you order?!” Kyungsoo asks as soon as the newlyweds both stepped into the room.

“You… you’re going to pay for it, right?” Chanyeol asks and offers the half-eaten sandwich in his hands, “You can have some if you want.” Kyungsoo looks at him in disgust before sitting next to Jongdae.

“Where did you get those shirts from? No wonder the staff found a couple of groomsmen’ shirts in the pool. Must be yours. Seems like you guys got comfortable,” Baekhyun comments. They were also wearing jeans too, which Jongdae remembers he hadn’t even brought on the trip.

“I don’t even know. That’s why you guys are here; do you have any idea as to what happened yesterday?”

“With you guys?” Baekhyun asks. “No. We’re too busy celebrating each other to notice my best friends gallivanting God knows where. I’m surprised you even made it back here.”

“Wait, so this is our room? Thank God,” Chanyeol relieved.

“What? Do you not remember coming in or something?”

Jongdae and Chanyeol looked at each other before looking away.

Kyungsoo sighs, “Guess Sehun must’ve dragged your asses in the room and dumped you two to rot.”

“We, uh, actually… We were probably dumped at the door.”

“Inside?”

“Out… Outside.”

“Sehun dumped you outside the door?”

“Yep.” Chanyeol confirms, shows his phone screen, a text from Sehun saying ‘Congratulations!’ and a picture of the two of them lying on the floor.

“That brat,” Jongdae curses.

“You probably deserved it,” Kyungsoo sighs.

“Gonna go shower. I feel fucking disgusting,” Jongdae stood up and goes to one of the rooms.

“You look like it.”

“Shut up, Byun!” He shouts from the room, before the other three hears a scream from Jongdae.

“YA! Keep your volume down,” Chanyeol shouts back, ironically. 

In came a now very flustered Kim Jongdae, a piece of paper in his hands as he breathed out, “Guess you both were not the only ones who got married last night.” All 3 pairs of eyes widen before Chanyeol marches over and snatches the paper away from him. Then he sees black.

* * *

“Do you guys not even see the rings on your fingers?!”

“How could we have known they were wedding rings?”

“I don’t think you even realised they were there.” Chanyeol hears a lot of bickering that he stops processing eventually as he’s still recovering from his hangover. 

“Chanyeol has rings on him all the time, he wouldn’t have realised it either.”

He heads Kyungsoo sigh heavily, before he hears a paper rustle, “Now what.”

“We can get it annulled… right? Like is there a law or something that says you can annul with no problem if you were heavily intoxicated-”

“I don’t think there’s a law for that.”

“Then there should be!” Jongdae whispers-shouts, and Chanyeol decides to open his eyes.

“Please shut up.” He slowly brings up his hand and sees the extra jewelry on his ring finger, groaning and closing his eyes again.

“We can probably get this annulled. I’m sure of it,” Jongdae says.

They couldn’t. Heck, their case wasn’t even remotely considered before they were… escorted out of the building.

Kyungsoo furrows his brows, “What now? Are you guys going to get a divorce?” Chanyeol and Jongdae stumped at the question, not knowing how to answer.

“You guys can just stay married,” Baekhyun suggests, “It’s not like either of you are in active relationships or pursuing anyone anyway. You’re already living together, and sometimes act like a married couple. Now it’s just legalised I guess.”

“I need a drink.”

“No more alcohol for you. Or ever. The next thing we know you’re in jail for public indecency or something,” Kyungsoo leads them all to Starbucks and gets them coffee.

“I don’t even know how this happened…” Chanyeol mumbles.

“Sehun and Jongin found us… That counts for something right? Maybe they know something, _anything_ ,” Jongdae sighs.

“Luckily for us, I already called for them to come here.” Baekhyun waves towards a direction, and soon, the two youngest from the group were sitting with them.

* * *

_“God, this is fucking boring. Who knew Baekhyun could be this vanilla?”_

_“What is that supposed to mean? You know Kyungsoo is like… some important businessman or something. That’s why it feels so formal, I guess,” Jongdae shrugs._

_“Do you think they’ll mind if we bail early?” He looks at the time; 9pm should be fine to leave the wedding, right?_

_“Yeah, I don’t even think they’d notice we’re gone too. We’ve already taken pictures and the cake is already cut… It should be fine, right?”_

_Chanyeol nods, “Let’s tell the maknaes, just in case they asked.”_

_“We’re not going to be your babysitters,” Jongdae points out._

_“We know. We are.”_

_“What?” Chanyeol asks this time._

_“We’re going to come with you to take care of our hyungs,” Sehun explained._

_“We can’t all leave the wedding.”_

_“Just go.” The 4 turns towards the voice and sees Baekhyun standing there, “It’s been a long day, just go. I will see you guys tomorrow, don’t go crazy. You got your cards, right?” Jongdae nods; the newlywed couple has given them a special room to stay in for the next 2 nights, and he hopes it’s a suite._

_“BEER PONG!!!” Chanyeol shouts as he challenges his best friend to a game, ‘just like the old times’. Jongdae won, much to Chanyeol’s disappointment, and the latter challenged him to another drinking game. And another. And another._

_Sehun and Jongin didn’t really pay attention to their hyungs until about an hour later._

_“Wait, where are they?!”_

_They both scurried off their seats to find where they last left them, only to have that area completely empty._

_“You guys are looking for the two noisy, drunk men?” Some old man approached them with a cigarette in his mouth, “They went through the back door 10 minutes ago.” Sehun and Jongin pales as they look at each other, and immediately makes a run to the back, but not before the older of the 2 thanking the man._

* * *

“I don’t fucking remember anything after the beer pong game,” Jongdae groans.

“That’s not even the worst part. We finally found you both sitting in the middle of the field by the end of the road, which could very much get you killed, by the way, and the both of you were crying about how lonely you are and how you will ‘never find true love like Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s’.”

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Baekhyun smiles.

“Let me guess,” Chanyeol sighs, “We decided it’d be a great idea to get married to each other?”

Jongin nods, “Pretty much. Even if we’re definitely taller than one of you, you’re both strong, and somehow, smart, even when you guys were wasted.”

“Yeah, you Google-searched ‘church’, which actually brought you to a sketchy, but legitimate chapel, and there was an officiant there whom you managed to convince that you are both so desperately in love with each other, and yeah. That’s pretty much it.”

“Aww,” Baekhyun pouts, “That’s anti-climatic.”

“Wait! What about the rings and shirts? Where did we get them?” Jongdae asks.

“The rings were readily available to buy at the sketchy place, since Chanyeol didn’t want to get married without them, and there was a souvenir shop located right next to the church and you guys bought them because even if you’re ‘broke as fuck, at least buying these shirts would make you feel like you actually went to Hawaii for your honeymoon’. The jeans were Jongin’s stupid and sarcastic idea that you guys were unsurprisingly convinced of so you bought them too.”

Kyungsoo felt a little perplexed, looking at his husband, “Where do you find these people?”

“I ask myself that too.”

“Wait, then… why were our shirts found at the hotel?”

“Ah, that is very, very interes-”

“You brought them back and they threw it into the pool as a celebration stance, right?” Kyungsoo pipes in.

Jongin winces, “Yes. But! We managed to save the pants.”

“That’s not assuring enough,” Baekhyun sighs, looking at his friends, “Seriously guys?”

“I don’t know what his excuse is, but I’ve been stressed at work lately and this just… it was just a break. Baekkie, I’m so sorry~” Baekhyun only rolls his eyes at Jongdae before looking at Chanyeol, “I’ve got an idea what your excuse is.” Chanyeol’s shoulders sag, he knows Baekhyun would’ve figured it out sooner or later.

“Well, what is it?” Sehun asked. Jongdae sits up, curious about what Chanyeol’s reasoning could be too.

“Not for you to know,” Baekhyun said before standing up, “Let’s go back to the hotel and figure this out. And you’re both paying for the dry cleaning and room service for your stupid mistakes.”

* * *

When they got home, they were still very much married. There was no legal reason why they should get divorced and quite honestly? They were very much taking up Baekhyun’s suggestion. They didn’t want to go through the hassle of the entire divorce process, and fork out a lot of money for it too, so they had mutually decided to stay married until one of them falls in love and plans to get married with someone else.

“So… like an open relationship?” Yifan asks when Chanyeol came back to work the following Thursday.

“Yeah. I mean… It’s not like we’re in a relationship anyway…”

“Chanye-”

“Fan, drop it.”

“At least you can cross it off your bucket list. Marry Jongdae, check!”

“Fuck off.” Chanyeol groaned as he sat at his seat.

“I genuinely cannot believe you got married to your childhood crush only for it to be some sort of open relationship. How would you explain it to your dates anyway? ‘ _Hey, I’m married, but since it was by complete accident and we’re lazy to get through a divorce, do you still want to date me?_ ’”

“Bold to assume I will even date anyone else…”

“That’s true. Man, Jongdae’s going to break your heart.”

“Shut. The. Fuck. Up.”

“Honey, I’m home~” Chanyeol rolls his eyes as he puts down the last dish on the table. “Aw, honey. These look delicious, sweetheart.”

Chanyeol ignores the sweet names, and instead asks, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Can’t I just compliment my husband?”

Right. They’re married. 

“Stop that, we’re not actually married.”

“Not according to the law!” Jongdae giggles, “Thanks for the food, Channie.” The younger internally sighs; as much as the idea of being married to the other is very appealing, it also reminds him of how they’re in this marriage because it was much more tedious to get a divorce, and not because Jongdae loves him. Well, the older man does love him, but not the same way he feels about Jongdae.

“How was your day?”

“It was fine. I told Yifan about us.”

“Oh yeah? What did he say?”

“He asked if it was an open relationship. I said yeah.”

“Yeol,” Jongdae straightens up, “You don’t really date or sleep around.”

Chanyeol furrows his brows, “Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

The other shrugged, “Is there a reason for it?” Chanyeol takes a bite of his food and shakes his head. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Dae.”

“Not even a crush? Or someone you admire?” 

Chanyeol shakes his head again, “How can I have eyes for anyone else when I have a husband?”

Jongdae snorts and throws a fry at the other, “Liar! I’m being serious right now, Yeol.”

Chanyeol ponders on it for awhile, “So what if I like someone? Jealous?” 

“Then we should get you both together! When you both fall in love and want to get married, we can get a divorce!”

His face sours, and Chanyeol lets it show, “You want a divorce so badly?” Sensing the tension, the smile on Jongdae’s face disappears, “Man, I was joking. What’s got your boxers in a bunch?”

“I’m perfectly fine staying married to you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“Well… um…” Chanyeol knows; he always knew his feelings were one-sided but it always stings a little, even after 2 decades. _Almost_. It was almost their 20-year anniversary since they first met in school as 7-year-olds. It wasn’t the most pleasant first impression - they had both tackled each other during PE, but had bonded in the Nurses’ and Principal’s office, and became best friends from then on.

“I guess you’re the one that needs that date.”

* * *

 _‘Stupid Chanyeol. Stupid.’_ He groans after Jongdae bid him goodbye to go on a date the younger had set up. The older man had matched with a guy named Minseok on Grindr, and they managed to set up a date two days after. He should be used to it - seeing Jongdae go on so many dates with both men and women alike, but life continues to suck. Holding up his hand to the light, seeing the ring sparkle, Chanyeol decides to start mentally preparing himself for the inevitable divorce.

It’s kind of cruel how life makes it so that the only way who can ever get Jongdae the way he wants is to bind them together legally, but Chanyeol guesses he’s the most cruel to himself when he sets up the one he loves with someone else.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun asks as he casually walks into the apartment like he lives there.

“Stressing out.” Chanyeol gets smacked by his older friend and he groans.

“You’re putting yourself through hell, you know that, right?”

“He wants a divorce.”

“Did he say that explicitly?”

“He doesn’t have to say it with his words when his actions say it loud and clear.” Chanyeol groans again, “I can’t believe I got him the way I’ve always wanted and now I’m going to lose him when it barely even started.”

“Then maybe you should go out on a date with someone else.”

“No, no. I can only focus on one major life event at a time. Now I’ve to focus on this divorce,” Chanyeol groans and turns himself over.

“You’re a complete mess.” Baekhyun picks up all the loose clothes on the floor and dumps them into the laundry basket, “Maybe you should ask Jongdae out on an actual real date. See what’s that like. See if that’s what you really want an-”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“Don’t interrupt your hyung like that! Take this date to prove to him what a good husband you would make for him. And maybe finally have kinky sex with him.”

“That would be nice… the date, I mean. Well, the sex is a bonus but just… prove to him I guess.”

“Well, the first step is to confess to him first, then maybe see where that takes you.”

“Easier said than done.”

* * *

“I like you,” Chanyeol breathes out, but turns around when hears a snort, to see Kyungsoo staring at him with a knife in his hand, “I think _like_ is an understatement.”

“Shut up, okay? I’m trying! I cannot come off too strong, even if I’ve been in love with him for a decade... Look. I know that this is going to give me a lot of unbearable pain.” Kyungsoo rolls his eyes at his friend’s dramatic ass. “But just like the last few years, I will just… live with it I guess.”

“You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“Does anyone?” Chanyeol snarks back, looking at his ring _again_ . “If a divorce is what Jongdae wants then… I’ll just give it to him.” He loves the ring; it sparkles so beautifully under the light. It was a simple, and of course, _cheap_ ring, and Chanyeol is thankful that it hasn’t given him some sort of allergic reaction already. Even if it did cost $10, he cherishes it like it was valued at a million dollars, only because it reminded him of his little marriage with Jongdae.

“Is Jongdae even wearing his?” Chanyeol pouts at the question and puts down his hand, “No. He took it out.” Jongdae wasn’t one for wearing jewelry anyway, Chanyeol justifies, so it’s perfectly fine. Perfectly alright.

“Baek’s right when he said you’re fucked.”

“Shut up.”

Jongdae and Baekhyun enter the apartment soon after for their dinner, and while Baekhyun bounces to where his husband is and peppers his cheek with kisses, Jongdae only walks to Chanyeol with a smile and greets him hello.

“Hey back. How was work?”

“It’s alright. Less stress now that the busy period is over,” Jongdae sighs, “The food looks good.”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, you alright?”

Chanyeol looks up at the older man, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know, you just seem off lately,” Jongdae shrugs.

“Off?”

“Yeah. I can't put my finger to it though. Hey, you’ll tell me if there’s anything wrong, right?”

He musters up the best smile he can manage, “Nothing’s wrong.”

“OKAY KIDS!” Baekhyun shouts across the room, “Dinner time~”

“How’s Minseok?” Kyungsoo asks to break the silence. A _great_ topic to start with if anyone had asked Chanyeol.

“He’s fine.”

“How many dates has it been? 4?”

“Just three. Fourth one coming up soon, I guess.” Jongdae glanced at his best friend, “Do you guys have any friends for this one here? He’s been lonely since I’ve known him.” Baekhyun only snorts while Chanyeol tries his best not to throw his chopsticks at him.

“The only man he’s ever laid eyes on is unavailable.”

“Baek," Chanyeol warns.

“Wait. Who?! Yeollie! You didn’t tell me," Jongdae pouts.

“He’s _no one_ ,” Chanyeol glares at the other two in warning.

“Yeollie~” Jongdae whines, “Fine, we can just talk about it later.” Chanyeol hates to admit that Jongdae seems honestly hurt that he had kept whoever this guy was a secret from him, but he knows it’s for the best.

_Later_ however, doesn’t really come if Chanyeol changes his plan suddenly and detours to a nearby pub, fully knowing Jongdae wouldn’t want to go drink on a weeknight.

“Don’t think I forgot about our conversation, Park.” Oh, he knows it’s inevitable, but maybe if Chanyeol delays it long enough, he might be able to forgo it altogether.

He hadn’t drunk much, but once he was sure Jongdae was asleep, he slowly made his way back a little dizzily. True enough, the older man was fast asleep, so he sighs in relief, he’s good. For now.

* * *

“You must be Chanyeol. I’m Minseok.”

“Ah yes, yes. Hello. Um, I think he’s still getting ready so…” Chanyeol looks behind his shoulder, “Would you like to come in?”

“Oh, it’s fine. We’re kinda in a rush out.”

“Okay.” Chanyeol doesn’t know what to do with himself. Chanyeol reckons he can’t live up to this Minseok. He’s extremely good looking, he definitely works out and is a lawyer too, if Chanyeol remembers correctly. From what he’s heard, Minseok and Jongdae have a lot of common interests, and he’s a perfect gentleman to the latter. Chanyeol feels like he’s got nothing on the other, and he’s already losing a game that he missed in the first place.

“Oh hey, hyung. I see you both have already met,” Jongdae says as he walks to the doorway.

“Yes. Shall we get going?”

Jongdae nods and turns to Chanyeol, smiling, “I’ll see you later? You owe me a chat, remember?” The latter only nods mutedly before walking back into his room, missing the look of confusion on his best friend’s face.

Chanyeol miraculously manages to avoid his roommate the next 2 days, citing that he was busy with _stuff_ , but of course, the day has come when he could no longer rid of Jongdae’s presence in his life, and have to face him once and for all.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

“I haven-”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. Explain.” Jongdae crosses his arms, and he looks downright pissed.

“Dae, I really was just busy with my… my thing.”

“What thing?”

“My job… thing.”

“You can’t even come out with a white lie. Fine! You don’t want to tell me what you’re up to or who you like. Fine!” He huffs angrily and pulls out his ring, shoving it into the other’s hand, “I’ll get the divorce papers for you and move the fuck out of here.”

“Wait. what? Jongd-”

“NO! I’ve been your best friend since you almost gave me a black eye, and yet you’ve been avoiding me for reasons I don’t know about, and it seems like everyone else knows who your secret crush is except me!”

“I don’t have to tell you everything!” Chanyeol starts to raise his voice, “It’s not my fault you tell me every single damn thing that goes on in your life and expect me to do the same.”

“Of course I expect you to tell me too! We promised to go through everything together; whether we’re happy, sad, disappointed, angry… Yeol, I thought we’re best friends!” Jongdae sounded hurt, but Chanyeol pulls all his will in to not cave in to his weakness.

“Just… I just need some fucking space, okay?! Can I have some space? Because I feel like you’re not giving me any these days, and it’s killing me.”

“Space?! Yeol, you’ve been avoiding me more than usual. That’s how much space I’m willing to give you, but I also want to make sure you’re okay. I get my updates from Baek… Not only him but _Kyungsoo_ too. I get updates on my best friend and roommate from our other best friend and his husband that we met only 2 years ago! You know what that makes me feel?! Like a shit best friend.”

“Maybe you are. Maybe you _are_ a shit best friend, a shit husband and a shit boyfriend. Does Minseok even know we’re married? Does he?!”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? Minseok isn’t my boyfriend yet, so no, he doesn’t know yet. But I will tell him eventually. And a shit best friend? How the fuck am I a shit best friend when I wasn’t the one avoiding the other like crazy? When I’m not the one pushing the other away so suddenly? When I’m not the one picking a fight for no valid reason and saying that I don’t have space in my life because of my apparently overbearing best friend? You want some space? FINE. I’ll move out.”

“You’re moving out because I just wanted space?”

“Because I feel like ever since we got married, things just went downhill from there. Should’ve gotten a divorce earlier or like… not be stupid and get married at all. Maybe we needed this space after all this while together after all, and it took us a stupid marriage to realise it.”

“Fine. Let’s just get a divorce,” Chanyeol sighs, “But… I’ll move out. This apartment is under your name anyway so it’s easier. Just… give me a while to find a new apartment?”

“That’s it? You’re going to give in just like that?” Jongdae asks in disbelief. Ironically considering he was the one that suggested both the divorce and moving out.

“What do you mean? You wanted this, right? You brought up the divorce papers, and you mentioned moving out to give me space. We’ve stayed together most of our lives, and since you have Minseok now, it’s best we… it’s best if we parted ways before it gets worse than this.”

“Because it’s what _you_ wanted. You wanted space, so I’m giving you just that. A divorce means we’re not legally binded together, and I don’t want to be the one holding you back from the person you like. And not being roommates anymore is giving you more freedom. This is what _you_ wanted.”

“I want so, so many things that I cannot have, Jongdae,” Chanyeol looks down at the other man sadly. “This is not what I want, but it’s what I’ll do. I don’t want to ruin what we have to the point we can’t salvage it anymore. Just give me a few days, and I’ll be out of your hair.”

It was hard to find a good apartment in the city for a reasonable price, so Chanyeol temporarily moves back with his parents until he finds one. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo heard it all and thinks they’re being stupid, and so does Yifan. He barely sees Jongdae as he starts to pack his things up, and only sees him once when the latter asks if it’s alright they agreed on keeping their own assets in their divorce. Chanyeol nodded his head before he quickly looked away and took his last box with him. He’s sure he hadn’t left anything. Just his heart. With Jongdae, like it always has been.

* * *

They hadn’t talked in 2 months. That’s the longest time they’ve spent apart, and Chanyeol is going crazy. The only interaction they had was Kyungsoo barging into his room, after politely asking Chanyeol’s parents of course, and dumping the divorce papers on his lap. As he signs the papers, Kyungsoo only glares at him before smacking the papers on his head once Chanyeol is done, and leaves without saying a word.

“You should really come clean, dude. While it’s good for our songs, I care about your heart, man.”

“Thanks.” Chanyeol sighs, leaning back on his seat. It has been good for the songwriting process, the company loved what he and Yifan has been producing thus far. 

“Do you miss him?”

“No. I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

_“That’s healthy.”_

“Shut up.” 

Chanyeol finally decides to go home around 1 in the morning, after finishing up two songs. As he goes down and walks to where he had parked his bike, he stops in his tracks when he sees who’s sitting on it.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

Jongdae shuffles on his feet, gripping the bags he had with him even tighter, “Wanna go to the river?”

Since the Han River was right beside the building, they opted to walk there, in silence; Chanyeol was a little confused and truthfully, his mind was getting a little hazy.

“You’re still wearing our ring,” Jongdae pointed out as they sat down on the steps.

Chanyeol looked down to his fingers, he still had the ring. He’s so used to wearing rings everyday that he didn’t realise he hadn’t removed the wedding ring.

“Yeah.”

“I, uh… I think we need to talk. I’ve been doing a whole lot of thinking, and… we were just assuming what the other wanted and… I think it’s better if we both came clean. I’ll start.” Jongdae sounds a bit rushed, but Chanyeol let’s him continue. “I was hurt when you wouldn’t tell me who you liked, which I then realised I was overreacting like some sort of hormonal teenager. But… I guess on top of that, you’ve also been avoiding me, and it makes me feel really shitty, you know? Like you didn’t trust me, and like… we weren’t close like I thought we were. Of course you don't have to tell me everything, I realised that later, but it still hurt me a lot. I guess I was just being petty and immature, and now that I’ve had some time to really sit down and clear my mind, I shouldn’t have blown up on you like that. I'm still hurt, but… yeah.”

It seems that Jongdae felt more relieved getting it all out, but it doesn’t mean that Chanyeol was ready to put his heart and soul out like the other did. Heck, he wasn’t prepared for this, let alone see his best friend that he hasn’t talked to in 2 months at 1 in the morning. He was tired, and honestly didn’t feel like being… honest.

“I broke up with Minseok. And I… I haven’t submitted our divorce papers either.” That woke Chanyeol up a little bit; all this while he thought they were already divorced, and that he was a free man. Not like it made any difference anyway, Chanyeol’s heart wasn’t his anymore anyway.

“Oh,” was all he could say.

“I’m sorry. I just felt dirty, like it was wrong. It’s still in our… the apartment.” He straightens his back and smiles up at Chanyeol. “What have you been up to? Did you… did you finally pursue the person you like?”

“No. I’m still married, apparently.” Jongdae came to the realisation that all this while Chanyeol thought he was already divorced, and he apologised again. 

“I should’ve at least told Baekhyun to tell you. Channie, I’m really sorry.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered. I don’t have a single drop of chance with this guy, so it’s whatever.”

“It’s not _whatever_. Hey.” Jongdae cups Chanyeol’s face in his and holds his gaze strongly, “Your feelings matter, okay? Don’t give up on him.” 

Chanyeol internally groans. It’s frustrating for him that Jongdae keeps mentioning this ‘guy he likes’ over and over again, like confessing is easy. _Like confessing your feelings towards your best friend of many years is easy._ He reckons it’s much harder than confessing to a stranger, or to someone you met with an expectation of dating. 

Without thinking twice, Chanyeol blurts out, “Do they matter if they’re for you?” He feels the older man’s hands freeze up on his face, so Chanyeol pulls them away from his face and stands up. “Now that you know…” Chanyeol pulls their wedding ring out and places it beside Jongdae, “Maybe that’s enough of a push for you to submit the divorce papers.”

“‘ _Do they matter if they’re for you?_ ’ Are you fucking stupid Park Chanyeol?!” The man himself scolds himself in the mirror as he messes up his hair, stressed. “Way to fuck up that confession. Many years of bottled up feelings down the drain because you decided to be stupid.” He doesn’t know why he said what he said, but for a split second, he was done with whatever Jongdae had to say about this guy he likes. He wanted him to know it was him; it is Jongdae that he fell in love with all those years ago, and for that short moment, he really wanted his best friend to know.

Now he regrets it; solely because he knew he was going to lose his best friend.

* * *

Another month goes by with no more communication between them, and Chanyeol’s sure he’s never going to hear from the other man again.

“You’re being dramatic.”

“I’m probably really divorced right now. Should I ask-”

“No. You’ve asked your friends once everyday for the last 20 days, the answer is still a no. Maybe Jongdae needs time to process his feelings.”

“What feelings? He doesn’t like me that way. Fuck, what if he thinks that all this time I’m always with him because I’m in love with him? He’s going to think I’m fucking creepy now.” Yifan smacks Chanyeol, who was lying down on the couch, harshly then, “Don’t be fucking ridiculous.”

“Hey! It’s possible.”

“Why would you doubt your relationship with Jongdae like that? He genuinely adores and cares about you, even if it’s just as friends.” Chanyeol scrunches his face up at the term.

“I don’t even expect us to be boyfriends, but hell, if I’m going to lose my best friend…”

“I won’t say that too soon…” Yifan looks at whatever’s outside the door, and Chanyeol follows his line of sight.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he curses, once he sees who was outside the door.

“I’ll leave the both of you alone. Don’t bone here, but if you do, there are condoms at the side table."

“What the heck?”

“Hey! Where do you think Junmyeon and I have sex when he’s here?” 

Chanyeol comically widens his eyes then, and quickly sits up, “You’re so fucking gross, Fan. This is a _shared space_.”

“Well, now you can make it even.” Yifan winks, pulling his backpack over his shoulder, “Don’t do things I wouldn’t do.” He lets Jongdae in as he leaves the room.

“Hey,” Jongdae greets as he sits on the other side of the couch. 

“Hi…” Chanyeol straightens his crumpled clothes out, “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you. I’m sorry it always takes so long for me to reach out… I didn’t know whether you’re ready… but moreso, I didn’t know whether I was ready.”

“Me too.”

“But I am ready now.”

Chanyeol nodded his head, avoiding the other’s eyes as he waited for him to continue.

“I didn’t know you liked me that way. What… um, how long exactly…? If you don’t mind me asking…”

“I’m not exactly sure how long… Maybe a good… ten years? There was never a… never a defining moment. I probably loved you even long before I realised it.”

“Love…? Fuck, how did I not… know…?”

“I didn’t want to ruin what we have with my stupid feelings.”

“Your feelings are not stupid. If anything, I was the stupid one that did not even realise my own best friend had feelings for me. Everyone else knows, don’t they?” Chanyeol nods. “I dated _so_ many people, Channie. And you were there for all of them. How could you do that to yourself?”

“I… got used to it,” Chanyeol shrugs, “It’s really not a big deal.”

“ _Not a big deal?_ Chanyeol, I feel guilty because I put you through so much.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“I feel… I feel like I don’t know you anymore. I’m sorry, I’m such a horrible friend.”

“If you’re so horrible like you claim, why do you think I’ve stuck by you all these years? Even if I’m in love with you, I probably wouldn’t have stayed with you if you were a shitty person. Jongdae, do you know why I fell for you?” Jongdae shakes his head.

“Whenever you see a homeless person, or a beggar, even if it was at the most inconvenient of places, you would go out of your way to buy heat packs, and a snack or drink, even when you only had a few bucks left to your name and you hadn’t eaten the whole day. When you’ve had a bad day, and I come up to you upset, you’ll still find it in yourself to cheer me up and make me feel better, even when it’s obvious you’re feeling pretty bad yourself. And my favourite? Nothing gets you down. You’re one of the most hard working and honest people I’ve ever met. You’re nice to people around you, and even nicer to those that are against you. Dare I say… you’re an Angel on earth?” Chanyeol teases, making Jongdae blush more after his little speech.

“Thank you… Needed that ego lift,” he jokes back.

“You’re very welcome.”

“Chanyeol…” Jongdae speaks up after a bout of silence, “I’m even more sorry to tell you that… that I don’t feel the same as you do.” 

Chanyeol did expect that - the rejection - but it still hurts all the same. He nodded his head, and pulled in all the strength he had to not tear up.

“But I… I want to try… I don’t want to file in the divorce papers.” Jongdae takes them out and makes a show of it by tearing the papers in half. “I’ve had this for months and had been refusing to submit them. I didn’t know why, but I just knew I couldn't. I didn’t want to then, and I do not want to now.” He tears them up again.

“I don’t want you to force yourself to love me the way I do you. That was never my intention. Jongd-”

“I want to try. I really do. You make me happy, Chanyeol-ah. Isn’t that what love is about? If you never try, you'll never know, right?” 

“But it feels like I’m forcing you.”

“Let’s start off slow then. I want to try, with you. Are you afraid that I’ll never love you as much as you do, Channie? Yes, I hadn’t loved you as long as you did with me, but I really, really want to do this. Just give me time. Loving you isn’t hard, I know that. Let’s try, please? We can always go back to being best friends if it doesn’t work out, which I highly doubt.”

“How are you so sure?”

“Let’s just say… These past 3 months that we kept our distance, made my heart grow a little fonder.”

* * *

“Ouch, shit. Fuck!”

“You’re too clumsy, baby.” Jongdae chuckles as he pulls out the bottle of lube from the side table, while Chanyeol nurses his stubbed toes.

“It’s the new bed. The sides are too rough.”

“Aww, it’s not child-proof enough for you, Channie? You were the one that picked the bed though.”

“Because we calculated and it was the perfect bed size to have sex on.”

“Exactly. We’ll get used to this. Now… I’ve been waiting too damn long for this.”

“We had sex yesterday.”

“And your point is? When my husband looks fucking adorable in his oversized sweater, what am I supposed to do? Not be horny?”

“You’re always horny.”

“True.” Chanyeol was skillfully stripped naked at that short amount of time and he groans, “You… naked too.”

“Alright, you big baby.” Jongdae only removed his shirt though, and proceeded to warm up the lube between his fingers. “You shouldn’t be too tight from how much hyung made you feel good yesterday, huh?” He inserts one finger in, and twists it around, “Ah, maybe I didn’t fuck you hard and long enough. Still… so…. Tight…” Chanyeol tries to rock back on the finger too, but Jongdae holds his hips, “Shh, relax, baby. Hyung wants to take his time… My baby boy deserves the best, huh?” 

“Mo-More, please…”

“You have to be patient, baby.” Jongdae captures the other’s lips with his and Chanyeol’s mind was so hazy, he hadn’t realised that the older man shoved 2 more fingers alongside the first. “I need to open you up well, Channie.” He moves his lips along Chanyeol’s jaw and down to his neck as he plunges his fingers in and out, and curls them in the younger’s hole. He knows exactly where his boyfriend’s prostate is, but Jongdae only teases around it, lightly pressing the areas around it, causing Chanyeol to mewl.

“Hyung… I’m about to c-cum…” Jongdae pulls away from where his lips were playing with his nipple, and stops whatever he was doing.

“Just wait a while more, okay? Can you do that for hyung?” Chanyeol takes a deep breath before he tries to level out his breathing altogether, nodding his head.

“Good boy.”

Jongdae’s always weak for Chanyeol in every way possible, so he takes pity on him and quickly lines up his hardening cock against his rim. “Ready, baby?” Chanyeol nods his head, and his boyfriend makes it worth the wait.

It’s been a year since they both officially started dating, and around 1.5 years since they got married. From the very first day Jongdae had wanted to start trying, he didn’t stop. He drags Chanyeol on dates, vacations, adventures, treats Chanyeol like a prince... Just like they would have done as best friends but with more kisses and sex. A whole lot of sex.

_‘God, who knew sex with my best friend would be this amazing? You put all my exes and one-night stands to shame.’_

  
  


As for ~feelings~, well… That was what Chanyeol’s most insecure about. Admittedly, they had a lot of arguments about those, but Jongdae knows that Chanyeol couldn’t help feeling this way.

“Channie, I don’t know how I can prove to you that I really do love you. You make me happy. Even happier now with all strings attached.”

The thing is: Chanyeol doesn’t really say it. He could be happy one minute and suddenly mope or sulk around the next. And Jongdae’s observant, he knows, and the last time they had this argument ever, Jongdae went down on his knees and begged him.

“Please, if there’s anything that I can do to prove to you… You have to let me know.”

“I… always feel like you are forced… I forced you… and you feel obligated to date me…”

“Park Chanyeol. We’ve known each other for 2 decades. And we’re almost thirty, for goodness sake. We’re old enough to make our own decisions and you know that I wouldn’t do things that I don’t want to do. I hate that this relationship is making you feel like this. So please, Channie, tell me what I can do to help you because I’m feeling very helpless right now.”

“Why… Why did you even want to try?” Chanyeol hates this; hates feeling insecure and hates that he needed constant assurance, but his insecurity was eating him alive. And he doesn’t want to feel this way, knowing one day it could drive Jongdae away, but the last 4 times he’d done this, asking the exact same question, Jongdae would say something different he loves about him that washes all the doubt away until it inevitably comes back to bite him in the near future.

“I wanted to try… because I knew it wouldn’t be hard for me to fall in love with you. Heck, thinking back, I _know_ I’ve fallen in love with you at one point in my life, I just didn’t think about it. Now that I'm embracing the same feelings that were hidden all these years, I fall in love with you more and more each day easily. When I come home tired, the only thing I can think about as I take the long subway ride home is to be in your arms. You’re the first person I look for when anything happens, I don’t even look for my own parents. You’re the first person I want to share my happiness with, and when I’m upset, I only want to stay with you. I’m so very fond of you and your entire being, ever since you tackled me first during soccer.”

“I did not,” Chanyeol managed to sniffle out amidst the confession.

“You definitely did~” Jongdae teases, “But I never regretted fighting back, because who knew I would’ve properly met my soulmate in our school’s nurses’ office? I always thought you were only ever my platonic soulmate, but now I know you’re my soulmate, through and through. I’ve done all those things I said when we were only friends, and I should’ve realised sooner that no one else would match up to you. That I had always loved you more than I think I did, and I admire you so much that I would do everything to protect you. I didn’t realise it then, but getting married to you is the best thing to ever happen to me.” Jongdae suddenly opens one of the drawers that they share once they decide to sleep in the same room, and takes out a velvet box.

“I don’t know whether getting married drunk was a blessing or not. The latter option being I don’t remember anything from the very first time the best thing has ever happened to me, and the former… It’s a blessing in disguise, you could say. Now, I can do it again, properly. The best thing to ever happen to me happened twice, who else in the world would be lucky enough to say that?” He goes on one knee and opens the box to a now-sobbing Chanyeol, “I don’t want to do this with anyone else, so let’s do this again. Will you marry me?”

They renewed their vows, sober this time, on their 2-year _drunk-wedding_ anniversary.

Chanyeol soon realised he had been overreacting, even when Jongdae says he hasn’t. Jongdae has done nothing but show him how much he loves him everyday, and the younger knows he should’ve appreciated his efforts more. Like when Jongdae comes home with flowers or little gifts that reminded him of the younger, or when Jongdae surprises him at work with food (and sex). Or when Jongdae would just hug an upset-Chanyeol without the latter having to say anything, coupled with his comforting ‘Everything will be okay. I’ll always be here with you.’ If Jongdae wasn’t working, Chanyeol would come home to a home-cooked feast full of his favourite food too. What could be better than that?

His favourite? When Jongdae takes care of him during sex. It’s insane how he could feel the raw love and fondness everytime Jongdae looks him in the eyes, making sure he was okay, and he hopes he sends the same feelings back.

However, this all meant that they’ve dethroned Baekhyun and Kyungsoo as the couple with the most PDA.

“I cannot believe you’re even more disgusting than us. I feel insulted, lowkey.” Baekhyun looks at Kyungsoo, “Why aren’t we like them?”

“Because… they’re gross.” His face scrunch up even more in disgust as Chanyeol and Jongdae pull away, and he sees the line of saliva between them. Jongdae makes that an excuse to lean in again to give a quick peck, before he decided it’s enough scarring (for his friends) for the next hour or so.

“We wanna tell you guys something.”

Baekhyun dramatically gasps, “You’re pregnant!”

“Ya! Why are you looking at _me_?” Chanyeol throws a pillow at the other, which the older of course, throws back.

“We all know you bottom from the way you were limping into the room just now!” Chanyeol restrains himself from jumping and possibly fighting the oldest in their group.

“Anyway,” Jongdae pats his husband comfortingly, “We have a huge announcement to make.” This time Baekhyun stays quiet, as Chanyeol says, “We’re going to have our daughter in our arms very soon.” Despite his playful behaviour, Baekhyun was genuinely happy for his best friends, and Kyungsoo congratulated them too.

They’ve been talking about adoption even before they got married the second time; both knowing the other wanted a family of their own. They started their adoption journey there and then. It did take them more than a year, but when they got to hold her for the first time on a beautiful autumn day in October, it really was worth the wait.

“Aeri-ya~” The little girl giggles as her father raises her up in the air, and lays her back down against his chest, “It’s way past your nap time… When are you going to sleep?” The 6-month-old turns her head to face her father and gurgles, and luckily for Chanyeol, he feels her head getting heavier by the minute, and soon, she’s asleep in his arms. But as the saying goes, like father, like daughter… Jongdae comes home to see the both of them sleeping soundly on the couch, and after taking a few pictures, he prepares dinner for the three of them.

“Hey… You didn’t wake me up…” Chanyeol yawns cutely, “I could’ve helped you…”

“It’s okay. Aeri couldn’t sleep again, did she?”

“Yeah…” He bounces slightly to the sleeping baby, “She’s probably going to wake up soon.” Jongdae leans in for a kiss and hummed, “Her food’s already ready. Hopefully she likes sweet potatoes.”

Watching their daughter grow is the one of the two best things to ever happen to Chanyeol. The other? Doing it all _with_ Jongdae. He always knew growing up he wouldn’t be able survive without the other, so to raise their daughter and live the rest of their lives together is something Chanyeol had never imagined could happen, but it did anyway, and he’s forever grateful.

Jongdae rubs Chanyeol’s shoulder in the tub as the latter cracks his neck. He had just finished working on a lot of tracks for a few albums, and he’s finally given a quick one week break. He had put in a few days of annual leave too, which meant that they could finally go on a proper trip to Japan, just like they always wanted. Now that Aeri’s two, she can better appreciate when going overseas, and it’s easier to take care of her now since she thankfully, doesn’t have the terrible-twos… yet.

Since she’s asleep now, her parents took this rare opportunity to fully utilise the hotel’s tub, overlooking the city skyline. City lights still shining brightly and the night still full of life, Chanyeol has never felt more content lying himself between Jongdae’s legs and leaning against his chest as the older sits on the edge of the tub.

“Like your first class seat?”

“It’s not my fault you don’t want to get into the tub, we could have sex in here right now.”

“We could have sex regardless whether I’m in the tub or not.”

Chanyeol shakes his head, “I like it like this. It’s like cuddling; you’re the big spoon and I’m the little one, just like always.” Jongdae chuckles at that and gives a quick kiss to the top of his head, before leaning his chin on it and his arms around his husband’s wet body.

“Are you happy?”

Chanyeol hums, “I’ve never been happier, really. Thank you.”

“I’m more thankful for you. You taught me what love truly is; as my best friend, as my husband, and as my husband… _again_. And I know you won’t believe me but you also make me a better person, and you’re my better half. It took me a while to get here, but I don’t regret a day. I think if I hadn’t dated around, I wouldn’t have appreciated you as much as I do now. Also, now I know I’ve the best of the best and the rest of the world’s population can suck it!” That made the both of them laugh their hearts out, before quickly realising their daughter was asleep just in the next room, so they quietened down.

“I love our little family. You, and our amazing daughter… Life seriously couldn’t get any better right now. Who knew it all started with a vanilla wedding with a little too much alcohol, huh?”

“Never say that in front of Baek. He’d take credits for our relationship when we were the ones that make the drunk decision to get married.”

“It’s a decision I had never regretted though. I never wanted to submit the divorce papers, I don’t even know why I suggested it in the first place. I thought I was holding you back. I’m sorry.”

“There is nothing to be sorry for, baby. Let’s not talk about the past anymore, okay? We’ve both accepted what happened, and now we should move forward with our lives. No point mulling over what happened a few years back.”

“Okay, you’re right. Tonight’s the last time we’ll talk about this… I truly don’t deserve you.”

“I can say the same for you too. Oh, and I love you too, so very much. But maybe… Aeri a little more.” Chanyeol thinks Jongdae would sulk over that statement, but he only nods his head, “I cannot blame you. She’s the best.”

“I’m kidding~ I love you as much as I love our daughter. There’s nothing else in the world I’d want right now than to be with the both of you for the rest of our lives. Happy 4-years anniversary.”

“Happy 4-years anniversary, Channie. Thank you for not giving up on me.”


End file.
